Is my calorie deficit for each week too big?

[artboy598]

I've been using Fitbit for a little over a month. It's great for tracking food, steps, etc.  According to Fitbit, on workout days I burn a little over 3,700-4,000 calories a day (2500 on weekend when I'm not exercising).  I consume 1800-2500 calories a day but I still end up with a 8,000 or more calorie deficit each week.  Is this too much?  I'm around 250 (as of weighing myself on the 15th of January) and am trying to lose weight (and gain muscle), but I don't want my body to go into "starvation mode". I find it difficult to eat a lot during the day (snacking) besides breakfast lunch and dinner because I'm usually engrossed in my work. Should I be worried my deficit is so high each week?

[Dominique]

First of all, you should establish whether your actual weight loss matches the calculated deficit (difference between energy expenditure estimated by Fitbit and intake estimated by you). Using 3500 calories = 1 pound (not perfect, but probably close enough to the truth), your calculated weekly deficit of 8000 calories should have resulted in an average weight loss of 2.3 pounds per week. In one month, this would be about 9 pounds. Is it close to what you have observed, or a lot more / a lot less?

Secondly, whether or not 2 pounds per week is too much depends on how much overweight you are. If you have a lot to lose, a larger deficit will be possible without falling in "starvation mode". As you get closer to your weight goal, you should have a smaller deficit.

[artboy598]

Thank you for the reply. Since I've stared recording things on Dec. 15th I've lost 7 pounds and my body fat percentage according to Aria is down by about 5.5% putting me at about the 29-30%. I'm also trying to build muscle as I lose fat so I don't want to be taking in too few calories to where I'm not gaining muscle. My goal is to get to 200 steadily by the end of summer or early fall 2017

[A_Lurker]

Although losing weight and building muscles can be opposite goals it's not impossible.  However, it's pretty difficult.  Generally when trying to build muscle a lot of people do bulk and loss cycles.  If you go for a slower weight loss you might be able to purge fat while building a small amount of muscle.  As @Dominique already mentioned keep an eye on your actual results to see how much of a deficit you might need.  I use trendweight.com (free, and you can link to your fitbit account) which will give you an idea of how the fat loss / muscle gain (or at least maintain) is going.

[Dominique]

@artboy598: if you "only" lost 7 pounds from Mid-December to end of January (6 weeks), your real weekly deficit wasn’t 8000. When I say "only", don’t take it wrong: losing 7 pounds is a fine achievement. It’s just that your actual deficit is smaller than what Fitbit is telling you. Your Fitbit could be overrestimating your energy expenditure, or you could be underestimating your intake, both of which are common situations. Losing 50 pounds from now (end of January) to end of August (7 months / 28 weeks) requires an actual weekly deficit of 6250 calories (weekly loss of 50/28 = 1.8 x 3500).

I second @A_Lurker’s suggestion to link your Fitbit account to TrendWeight, especially since you’ve got an Aria. It really helps even out the daily fluctuations that are bound to occur and see the real trend, as implied by the name.

Gaining muscle in a caloric deficit is very difficult. However, if you are new to resistance training and since you’ve got a lot to lose, you may be a candidate for "body recomposition" (losing fat while gaining muscle). You need to follow a good resistance training program based on progressive overload. Otherwise resistance training in a caloric deficit should be viewed more as a way to minimize muscle loss / preserve existing muscle than adding muscle mass.

[Malme84]

It's natural to have large deficits for awhile if you have a lot of weight to lose. The main thing to watch out for is making sure the deficit isn't the result of consuming too few calories, and making sure you are getting all the nutrition you need. As the weight comes off, the deficit will get smaller.

[artboy598]

Thanks!  Sorry for the late reply. I've been busy with work. I also found out I mistakenly got gainer protein instead of isolate protein but I've since fixed that. That could have also had an affect on my results maybe. I usually calculate on the high end when I plug in foods and can't scan them in but it's difficult to tell once every piece of chicken or fish isn't the same size. 

[Nubnub]

I am new on this ..: my question is 

How do you know how many calories you have left? 

[Gettinfit2day]

I bought a small kitchen scale and weigh most of my portions.